2 March 2015

The university think-tank million+ has welcomed the publication of a new report by the All Party Parliamentary Small Business Group which conducted an inquiry into productivity and small firms. The think-tank submitted evidence to the inquiry and Pam Tatlow, the Chief Executive of million+, appeared before MPs to answer questions.

27 February 2015

Professor Michael Gunn, Chair of the university think-tank million+ and Vice-Chancellor of Staffordshire University has welcomed the announcement by the Labour Party that it would reduce fees from £9000 to £6000 and fully fund universities for the lifetime of the next Parliament.

25 February 2015

million+ has launched a 'manifesto for universities' to highlight the reasons why investment in universities, science and research should be a high priority for the next government. The manifesto argues that the Westminster Parliament and the devolved governments of the UK should promote participation in higher education, expand the research budget and provide more direct investment in higher education to promote a world-class rather than a two tier university system.

12 February 2015

The university think-tank million+ has commented on the report published today (12 February) by Universities UK on the regulation of higher education in England. The report ‘Quality, equity, sustainability: the future of higher education regulation’ argues the current system of regulation is outdated and reform is needed in order to protect the UK’s reputation for quality.

30 January 2015

Professor Michael Gunn, Vice-Chancellor of Staffordshire University and Chair of million+ responds to the publication of the Annual Grant letter from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) which sets out details of the government’s grant to the Higher Education Funding Council for England for the 2015-16 year.

30 January 2015

The university think-tank million+ has commented on UCAS statistics published today (January 30) on applications from full-time students seeking to commence courses at university later in the year. million+ welcomed the increase in the number of young people applying to university but has pointed out that the data confirms that there are wide variations rates in progression to higher education according to age, background and parliamentary constituency.

19 January 2015

The university think-tank million+ has commented on the government’s response to the Carter review of initial teacher training published by the Department for Education today (19 January). The Review and its Chairman, Andrew Carter, the head of a primary school in Surrey, were commissioned by the former Education Secretary, Michael Gove.

16 January 2015

The university think-tank million+ has responded to the publication of the results of a UCAS survey of schools today (January 16) and proposed that the next government should consider restoring AS levels. The survey seeks to assess the response of schools to the ‘plethora’ of reforms to A-levels promoted by the government and concludes that the majority of schools intend to continue to teach AS levels at least until 2017.

15 January 2015

The university think-tank million+ has called on Ministers in all governments to consider new strategies and funding regimes to support part-time study in universities following the publication of official statistics by the Higher Education and Statistics Agency (HESA) which confirm a significant decline in part-time participation.

12 January 2015

The university think-tank million+ has welcomed the report by MPs who sit on the Joint Committee on Human Rights which highlights the risks to freedom of speech posed by the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill. The report recommends that universities should be exempt from the new ‘prevent’ duties which the Bill proposes. In light of the report, Professor Michael Gunn, the think-tank’s Chair and the Vice-Chancellor of Staffordshire University, has called on peers to scrutinise the implications of the Bill and the draft guidance issued by the Home Office, at the debate on the Second Reading of the Bill in the House of Lords on 13 January.

19 December 2014

Following the publication of UCAS’ End of Cycle Report 2014 today (19 December), the university think-tank million+ has welcomed the increase in the number of people applying to go to university, but cautioned that more still needs to be done to increase participation across the country.

18 December 2014

Following the publication of the results of the Research Excellence Framework 2014 across UK institutions today (December 17), the university think-tank million+ has responded. Funding allocation is set to be revealed in spring 2015.

17 December 2014

The university think-tank, million+, cautiously welcomes the Government’s Science and Innovation Strategy published today (12 Dec). The Strategy ‘Our plan for growth: science and innovation’ was published alongside an evidence paper and response to the recent consultation on long-term capital investment in science and research.

9 December 2014

The university think-tank million+ has commented on HEFCE's review on quality-related research funding ahead of the REF 2014 announcement. million+ call for ministers to address the hyper-concentration of research funding in universities following the REF results.